Caring for You: Healing wounds is her business

Editor's Note: Caring for You is a monthly feature that highlights the work of Cape Codders who deliver health care without fanfare.

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By TRACY HAMPTON

capecodtimes.com

By TRACY HAMPTON

Posted Apr. 24, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By TRACY HAMPTON

Posted Apr. 24, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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KayBeth Weibel is the nurse manager at the Cape Cod Healthcare Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center in Bourne.

Q. How are wound care nurses different from other nurses in their training and daily work?

A. Our full-time nurses are all wound care certified and bring a variety of experience to our center. Our nurses also attend a specialized conference that includes intensive education in hyperbaric oxygen therapy, one of our treatment modalities. We see patients weekly and they become like our friends and family — it truly is a community here. It's a gift to be able to care for our patients and a joy to see them successful in healing their wounds.

Q. What are some of the common and rare conditions you treat?

A. Our wound care model is one of healing patients who have chronic wounds. A chronic wound is defined as one that is not proceeding through an expected course of healing and has been present for at least one month. Although we occasionally care for patients who have acute traumatic wounds, the majority of our patients have long-standing wounds that have not healed through traditional means. The most common causes of wounds we see at our center are diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and pressure ulcers. Our job is to determine the underlying cause of the wound, resolve the issue or refer the patient to a specialist, then treat the wound with standard or advanced therapies.

Q. What do you find most satisfying about your job?

A. By far, of course, the most satisfying moments are when we heal our patients, especially those who came to us after months or years of frustration. The joy our patients have on the day that they heal is so infectious and we all share in their success. We have helped save so many patients that have diabetic foot ulcers from amputation; it is difficult to choose the most memorable. Some of the patients that we have seen with the most dramatic successes are the patients who are cancer survivors who have injuries related to their radiation treatments. Although this side effect is rare, it may cause difficulty swallowing, or pain and bleeding with urination and defecation. We have successfully used hyperbaric oxygen therapy in these circumstances and patients are able to return to normal lives. For example, two of our patients required feeding tubes because they could not swallow. Before their treatment series ended, they were eating enough calories and were able to have their tubes removed.

Q. You've mentioned the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. How would you describe that and the other advanced technologies you use?

A. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy — or HBO — is used not only in radiated tissue injury, but in the healing of certain complicated wounds. Diabetic foot ulcers that have exposed tendon or bone associated with infection require intensive treatment to avoid limb loss. HBO is a tool that we use that helps to increase oxygenation and create new blood vessels. Patients are required to make a commitment to daily treatments for a period of time, but the results may prevent a life-altering amputation. We also use biologic therapy, which includes the application of different types of cells to the wounds to speed healing. The cells may be skin cells, collagen, and/or growth factors that all work with the patient's own cells to stimulate the healing process.